The Intersection of Religious/Christian Educator and Denominational Leader

AbstractI have the rewarding experience of being an administrator operating out of a denominational leadership role in Christian education. I have served in this role concurrently for over a decade as a full-time professor of Christian education at a seminary. In this autobiographical reflection, I discuss how I define my roles in the church and academy as one vocation. I spend my life juggling time and resources so that both roles are served at the highest level. I discuss in the paper how each of the roles intersect and inform one another.Keywords: Vocationadministrationdenominational service Conclusion – a life intertwined with GodSince teaching is as much "showing” and “experiencing” as it is “telling” – and more effective when it’s the former – I have attempted in this brief piece to show and help readers to experience the intersection of my work as seminary faculty and denominational administrator with all the variations and expressions that are part of each. In the process, I have given some insights that have come from decades of work as a religious educator. It has been my aim to demonstrate how a singular vocation, that of religious educator, can be expressed in multiple facets, much like a prism. Further, I have intended to demonstrate how each aspect of location informs, enlivens, and expands upon the others, and how all of the expressions are tied back to the singular vocation of a life of faithfulness and discipleship following the pattern of Jesus.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.Notes1 Karen B. Tye, Basics of Christian Education (Danvers: Chalice Press, 2000), 10–12.2 Karen B. Tye, Basics of Christian Education (Danvers: Chalice Press, 2000), 10–12.3 Ibid., 11.4 Mary Field Belenky, et al. Women’s Ways of Knowing (USA: Basic Books, 1997); Delores Williams. Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2013).5 Carmichael Crutchfield and Denise Janssen. Pressing Ford: Faith, Culture, and African American Youth (Valley Forge: Judson Press, 2022), 21.6 Tye, 12.7 Ibid., 60.8 Carmichael D. Crutchfield. Formation of a People (Valley Forge: Judson Press, 2020), 126.9 Ibid., 127.10 Henri Nouwen, Michael Christensen, and Rebecca Laird. Following the Movements of the Spirit (New York: HarperOne, 2010), XI.11 Ibid., xIx.12 Ibid. xvii.13 Ibid. 20.14 Freddy Cardoza, ed. Christian Education (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2019), 211.15 Bishop Lawrence L. Reddick III, CEO, The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church Discipline (Memphis: CME Publishing House, 2018), 228.16 Carmichael Crutchfield. Formation of a People (Valley Forge: Judson Press, 2000), XI, referencing Maria Harris. Fashion Me a People (Louisville: Westminister John Knox Press, 1989), 75ff.17 Leander E. Keck, editor, et al. New Interpreters Bible, Vol. 11 + (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2000), 206, referencing Beverly Gaventa. The Maternity of Paul, 196.18 Ibid.19 Ibid.Additional informationNotes on contributorsCarmichael D. CrutchfieldCarmichael D. Crutchfield, Clara Scott Chair of Church and Ministry, Professor of Christian Education, Spiritual Formation, and Youth Ministry.